The present invention relates to an adjustment device, particularly for adjusting the size of an in-line roller skate.
At present there is the need, especially for young users who are still growing, to have skates provided with a size adjustment device.
A device of this type is particularly interesting because it would allow use for an extended period and would also allow to swap or lend skates also between users having different foot sizes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,833 discloses an in-line roller skate whose length can be adjusted. Such skate has a rigid supporting frame for a plurality of in-line wheels, a shell which comprises a toe unit and a heel unit, and appropriate first means for engagement to said frame which are formed in the heel unit.
The heel unit has, in a lower region, a sole which is suitable to be slidingly connected, by virtue of second engagement means, to the base of the toe unit. The second engagement means comprises third means, such as a screw, for detachably coupling the base of the toe unit to a part of the frame, thus allowing the toe unit to slide with respect to the heel unit in a direction which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the skate. Such conventional skate also has a cuff which is connected to the heel unit by means of an appropriate connection device, particularly a pair of studs. The studs are connected to sliding means which are provided on the two lateral walls of the toe unit.
The main drawback of the above described conventional skate is the fact that it is complicated both structurally and as regards size adjustment.
Said adjustment in fact requires time, because it is necessary to loosen the screw by means of an appropriate tool, which one must carry during skating, and to wear the skate several times until the exact position of the heel unit with respect to the toe unit is obtained, subsequently tightening the screw again, with the possibility of unintended changes to the position of the various elements.
Another drawback of such conventional skate is the lack of any visual indication of the size or length used: this entails that a user who has already made a size adjustment earlier cannot rapidly restore the exact original position but has to perform the same complicated procedures he or she performed the first time.
EP-955,074 discloses an in-line roller skate which comprises a shell which is associated, in a lower region, with a wheel supporting frame and a heel unit which is slidingly associated with the shell. The skate has sliding means adapted to selectively move the heel unit with respect to the shell in an axial direction.
Adjustment occurs by virtue of the rotation of a toothed roller which acts on a series of flat teeth formed at the lower part of the heel unit: this rotation entails the movement of the heel unit along the longitudinal axis of the skate and thus changes its size.
The main drawback of this known type of skate is the fact that adjustment occurs by moving the rear part of the shoe: in this manner, the position of the heel is shifted, causing a disadvantageous displacement of the center of gravity with respect to the wheels.
This is a drawback, because almost all the weight of the body is transmitted to the ground by means of the resting region that corresponds to the heel, and a displacement thereof can lead to considerable adaptation difficulties in the practice of the sport.
The aim of the present invention is therefore to solve the noted problems, eliminating the drawbacks of the cited known art and thus providing a device which allows to obtain a simple and effective adjustment of the size of a skate.
An important object of the invention is to provide a device which allows to rapidly visualize the size selected by the user.
Another important object is to provide a device which can be easily accessed by the user without the need to have additional tools or instruments.
Another object is to provide an adjustment device which allows easy and immediate adaptation to the new dimensions of the shoe without destabilizing the user""s balance during practice of the sport.
Another object is to provide a device which is simple and straighforward to use.
Another object is to provide an invention which is structurally simple and has low manufacturing costs.
This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by an adjustment device, particularly for adjusting the size of a skate composed of a frame provided with means for connection to two or more in-line wheels and to the heel unit of a shell, a toe unit for containing an innerboot being slidingly associated with said frame, characterized in that said adjustment device comprises an actuator which is arranged outside said frame and can be actuated directly by the user in order to position said toe unit selectively with respect to said frame, said actuator having a first position, in which said toe unit can slide freely with respect to said frame, and a second position, in which said toe unit is locked with respect to said frame.